Photo: KForce at en.wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0Rahway’s library lends 1.8 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries its size
Rahway Public Library serves Rahway’s 29,556 residents. Last year it lent 69K books, movies and e-books and logged 77K visits.
Rahway’s library, in brief
Most programs are for young children
75% of the 484 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 0 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 70% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is lower than at 61% of similar-size libraries, so the high share mostly reflects light borrowing by adults. What people borrow ↓
A big collection for the borrowing it gets
Rahway Public Library holds 119,000 books and other items, but the average item went out less than once last year. What people borrow ↓
This summary is written from the numbers on this page. Numbers are the library’s own report to the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
What’s behind Rahway’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Rahway is ahead of 18% of U.S. towns, #356 of 466 in New Jersey. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Rahway’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($69K–$114K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
Civic life counts registered nonprofits, library visits and online volunteering groups, so it can miss civic life that runs through congregations, mutual aid or neighbors looking out for each other.
Library visits: IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FY2024. Nonprofits: IRS Exempt Organizations Business Master File, October 2026. Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. How TownRatings grades civic life →
97 community nonprofits are registered in Rahway
3.2 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
Community nonprofits, by kind
Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (32 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 7 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
4.5%
4.5% of Rahway’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 7.2% in the typical New Jersey town and 7.5% nationally.
Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. ZIP-code figures, weighted by where Rahway’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Rahway Public Library serves 29,556 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 27 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
69K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 119K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.5 time last year, on average.
15,155 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 7 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Rahway last year.
Find it
Rahway Public Library, 2 City Hall Plaza, Rahway.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Rahway? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Rahway cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.7M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.3M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.7M budget.
Fine-free. No late fees on books returned late.
Retail prices are typical, rounded down: a new book $17, a kids’ book $12, an e-book or e-audiobook $15, a movie rental $4, a class or program $10, a computer or Wi-Fi session $3. The average cardholder’s month = the library’s yearly loans, attendance and Wi-Fi sessions ÷ its 2,184 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Rahway ranks 3rd of 4 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clark Township | Clark Public Library | 6.5 | 61 | A− |
| Woodbridge Township | Woodbridge Public Library | 3.6 | 68 | D |
| Rahway | Rahway Public Library fine-free | 2.3 | 50 | C− |
| Linden | Linden Free Public Library | 1.2 | 57 | D |
| Colonia | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| Avenel | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
Loans = print + digital items borrowed in the library’s fiscal year, per person it serves. — = no library of its own, a county or regional system (its numbers cover many towns), or no report. Civic life: — = not graded (unincorporated places, whose nonprofits can’t be placed by mailing address, or towns with fewer than two of the three inputs).
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average; libraries are compared with others serving about as many people. How TownRatings uses library figures →
Questions about the library and civic life in Rahway
Does Rahway have a public library?
Yes. Rahway Public Library, 2 City Hall Plaza, serves Rahway’s 29,556 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 50 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Rahway Public Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
Yes to both: no late fees, and e-books, audiobooks and research databases with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Rahway’s library?
It logged 2.6 visits and lent 2.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Rahway’s civic life grade?
C− Rahway is ahead of 18% of U.S. towns on civic life, #356 of 466 in New Jersey. The grade combines library visits per resident, community nonprofits per 1,000 residents and the share of adults 25–44 in volunteering groups. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Rahway.
Libraries: Institute of Museum and Library Services, Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024. Each library reports its own numbers. Distances are straight-line from the town center. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.